Rain rain go away....please

So I have had four more days back on board and only cruised for two of them as I find I am more and more a fair weather boater. I don't mind a light shower but these deluges are just too much. I have been soaked twice on my journeys back to fetch the car! However, I have seen the best of people and the worst of them too. The worst was when I was 25 yards from the bus stop as the bus came, I was running and waving but the driver wasn't having it and pulled off. The best was when one of the Braunston villagers saw me in the bus stop and asked if she cold drop me anywhere. Would you offer a dripping wet stranger a lift? Unfortunately she wasn't going my way but I was touched by her kindness. I moored in Braunston for a couple of nights but was disappointed when I arrived at the Gongoozlers Rest just as they were closing. Being a wet day I think lots of people had decided to go and eat there and they had run out of food. I have also had a nice meal in The Folly at Napton.

Water water everywhere - except in my cooling tank

Since my last post I returned to work for a couple of days leaving Olivia in the Hartshill area, then, on my return, dodging the showers I made it down to Hawkesbury Junction and then on to Newbold. As I was mooring at Newbold I noticed the temperature gauge rising fast. I quickly switced off the engine and later on, when it had cooled down sufficiently, I looked in the header tank and found it wanting - there was no water in the tank. Friends, Phil and Jackie, were moored  a few hundred yards away and Phil popped over to have a look. We discovered a trail of rusty looking water coming from a little round culprit on the engine block. Oh yes, a core plug had "gone".

I needed to leave Olivia anyway as I was due a visit to see my grandaughter, now nine weeks old, so I decided the boat was moored in a reasonably safe place and I'd just abandon her. Anyway, last Tuesday I drove to Calcutt boats for the spare part and then picked up my good friend, Rick, who took less then fifteen minutes to clear out the remains of the old plug and fit the new one. I had to drive 100 miles but I still reckon the petrol costs would be cheaper than the cost of most engineers' time.

Yesterday I tested it all out on a one hour cruise and it all seems hunky dory. Now I'm ready for the next part of my cruise but, please, can I have some nice weather as I am totally fed up with the last few weeks' weather.

All seasons in one day

On Wednesday I fetched my car, which I had left in the vicinity of Great Haywood. The buses in Staffordshire & Warwickshire are pretty good even though the fares are a bit random e.g. 50 minute journey £3.20, 15 minute journey £2.40. Roll on bus pass!! I stopped at the antique/craft centre at Wolseley that had been closed on Monday when I cruised through - some quite interesting bits and pieces (even though some were labelled made in China). I moored for the evening near the winding hole just before Tamworth (I'm trying to moor in places I haven't stopped before). The evening was fine for a change and it was a pleasant area.

The next day started fine and I popped into the shops for provisions. By the time I got back to the boat storms had blown in and we had serious amounts of rain. I did a bit of reading while waiting for it to fizzle out. When it was at its worst I was hit by a boat that must have got disoriented in the rain/hail/thunder & lightning. It is the hardest anything has ever hit poor old Olivia and a few things flew off the shelves - luckily none of it breakable. I popped my head out and the helmsman just shrugged his shoulders. I know these things happen but i couldn't understand why he was going so fast and why he should hit me when I was in quite a wide part of the canal and not near a bridge or anything. Oh well, no lasting damage in evidence. By 3pm the weather had cheered up and I moved on to my next destination, Polesworth. It was a lovely fine evening again and I had a walk around the village.

On Friday I went to visit the Abbey and some of the other old buildings. I got chatting to several people there including a boater who has very recently been widowed and is worried that she might not use the boat on her own. I tried to encourage her to give it a go. In the hour or two that I was there, the River Anker had burst its banks and was visibly rising as we watched. I moved my car out of the car park to higher ground and within the next hour or so the car park disappeared under about 3 feet of water. One lad of eleven or twelve just couldn't resist wading through the water waist deep, much to the amusement of his mates. They just don't understand the dangers.

Today's weather hasn't been too bad - I only got caught in one heavy shower. I did eleven locks today and was grateful for the help offered and given by fellow boaters.